Its going to get loud at Detroit's Hydrofest

For the first time in 30 years, Detroit's Hydrofest will feature piston-powered Grand Prix boats rather than the turbine-powered H1 Unlimited The races run Saturday and Sunday.Hydroplane Racing League / Windsor Star

Testing on the water starts at 9 a.m. both days and racing in various classifications continues through to 4:30 p.m.

Sudbury’s Mike Monahan is the lone Canadian driver in the 11-boat Grand Prix field that competes in the Hydroplane Racing League out of Quebec.

“We’ve been there (in Detroit) the last three or four years as the secondary show to the Unlimiteds,” Monahan said. “This is the first year that we are the show and we’re action packed. There’s something on the water all the time.” Instead of the lengthy gaps between heats that come with Unlimited Hyrdroplane racing, boats will roll out of the pits on a steady basis this weekend.

“There’s nothing like Grant Prix Hydroplanes for the torque, the power and the noise,” said Monahan, a second-generation racer who grew up around the sport his father, James, also embraced. “It’s my passion, it’s what I do.” Monahan, now 55, has been racing for almost 40 years.

He says fans are going to enjoy the spectacle that unfolds on the smaller 1.25-mile course the Grand Prix boats race.

“It condenses the whole race down,” he said. “You pack all the fans in front of the yacht club. It’s all going to be contained right in front of the pits where you have the big grandstand.”

Sudbury’s Mike Monahan is the lone Canadian driver in the Grand Prix field that competes on the weekend at Detroit’s Hydrofest.jpg

Detroit is the second-last stop on the HRL’s eight-race season so the front runners in all three classes will be here chasing the overall 2019 season title.

Engine woes have hindered Monahan’s season. He comes into town in fifth position, exactly 100 points behind leader Jimmy King at 397.

The race for supremacy in the H-350 Hydroplanes is tight, with just 16 points separating the top four.

Kent Henderson, who lives just east of Kingston, sits in fourth with 466 points.

The H-350s are capable of speeds up to 120 miles per hour.

“You get 25 points for a heat win so there’s definitely that much more incentive to win this weekend. The level of competition in the H-350 is massive,” Henderson said.

The 46-year-old is another veteran racer with 18 years experience who says the Detroit River course is always a challenge.

“Well the Roostertail turn is very infamous, you go around that turn and see all the people in the crowd and the turn itself is challenging. The whole course is challenging with the Detroit River and the current.”

Tickets start at $10 for one-day admission. Grandstand seating is $20 on Saturday and $25 on Sunday. Tickets are available at detroitboatraces.com and Eventbrite.